Ford GT Racing Woes – A Sign of Things to Come?

This past weekend was a busy weekend for Ford Performance and their beloved children—the IMSA and WEC racing Ford GTs, and although catastrophic failures seem to have seized for good, the EcoBoost powered machines have yet to shine on track.

The dream started at the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year, and it was a dream that quickly turned into a nightmare, as the race itself threw many challenges at the new GT crew with faulty transmissions and off-road excursions on behalf of the drivers. In the end, it was everyone’s first race, and great feedback was acquired.

Then came Sebring, and more recently the WEC 6 Hours of Silverstone and IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach, two very different venues that yielded similar uninspiring results from all crews alike. The long and sweeping turns of the historic Silverstone circuit proved to be a good fit for the GTs, as they qualified 3rd and 4th on the grid for the grueling race. Sadly, such performance quickly dissipated in the heat of race, and a combination of mechanical issues, rain, and other situations pushed the Ford GTs back to 4th and 5th in their class, out of a field of 7 by the end of the race.

A similar story took place at the tight and bumpy streets of Long Beach, California, where the Ganassi GTs could only accomplish 4th and 8th during the nearly two hour race.

With the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans exactly two months away, could Ford Performance be experiencing racing woes it never thought it would have? Perhaps the development curve has been too steep for a racing organization that is less than a year old? And more importantly, come June, will the Ford GT be a story of pride and success, or a failed come-back embarrassment?